1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to recreational sleds and more particularly to sleds having segmented body structures adapted to be steerable.
2. Background Information
Sleds constructed with molded plastic bodies have become highly popular in recent years. Many of these sleds feature sculpted underbody shapes with runners and/or grooves molded into their bottom to define the sliding surface. The geometry of the sliding surface may facilitate steering of the sled through shifting of the rider's weight distribution to allow certain steering structures of the surface to pressurably engage to snow while other opposing steering structures disengage—thereby forcing a turn to be carved in the prevailing turn direction of the engaged steering structure.
Often, steering structures are formed on the sled bottom as one or more outwardly facing concave edges in a manner similar to modern “shaped” skis and snowboards. Such structures enable steering by a rider such that the rider must lean in a direction opposing the turn in order to carry out the turn. In other words, steering in a particular direction is carried out by shifting one's weight onto an opposing outer edge from the direction into which the turn is to be made.
Modern molding techniques and materials have made possible highly complex and ergonomic sled designs that define carefully contoured sliding surfaces and body-conforming tops. One such modern sled is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,919 entitled ARTICULATED BODY-STEERABLE SLED WITH ADD-ON MODULES by Krent, the teachings of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. This sled relies upon molded body modules or segments, joined by flexible hinge joints to derive a multi-segment sled (essentially a coupled “train” of segments) that can be ridden by one or more riders in either a seated or head-first, prone position. Steering is facilitated (in part) by the fact that the segments can be turned with respect to each other within a horizontal plane (e.g., a yaw direction).
While the sled shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,919 effectively deals with control and turning in a long, molded sled body, it still provides largely conventional runners having substantially parallel edges along their entire length. Hence, this sled is still limited in its ability to steer sharply and accurately, requiring the rider to lean away from the direction of the turn, in a largely conventional fashion.
It is desirable to provide a sled, having multiple segments, which incorporates a more natural steering motion, such as one that requires to rider to lean into the direction of the turn, like a bicycle. In addition, such a sled should afford the user more range of motion in multiple axes when traversing uneven terrain and obstacles.